God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)

Yes, the above scripture says that God has given us all gifts, yet many of us have a hard time trying to identify which spiritual gift He gave us. If you were to ask someone, what was their gift; the response might be, “I’ve no idea as I don’t appear to be gifted at anything.” This is so far from the truth, and often times it’s others who see our gifts long before we do.

For instance, I realized a long time ago that God gave me the gift of giving. I try to take advantage of every opportunity He puts on my heart, to help others by giving my time, money or whatever is needed, to help those less fortunate. A friend told me recently that I also had the gift of encouragement. She said that I was like a coach who motivates people to believe in themselves and work towards reaching their goals. When I think about it, God has blessed with many gifts; I just didn’t realize it.

What about you? Maybe yours is the gift of hospitality. You graciously welcome visitors into your home by offering food and lodging. Someone else could have the gift of mercy; they show compassion for those who have physical, spiritual or emotional needs and do what they can to help them. Being kind and thoughtful to others is another gift that pleases God.

We don’t have to limit ourselves to one or two gifts; God will gladly give us more, all we have to do is ask and be open to receive them.

Dear heavenly Father, help us to recognize the gifts that You have bestowed upon us, so that we might use these gifts to serve others. Amen.